What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 172

"Kaia, my feelings for her are strictly based on us being family..."

"Enough. Stop talking," Kaia cut him off, her voice dripping with cold detachment. "I see right through you, and I have a pretty good idea of what she wants, too. This is actually a good thing. At least now you don't have to keep pretending. Being open about it is much better than lying to yourselves."

With that, Kaia didn't even look at him again. She turned, pulled open the door, and strode out.

"Kaia!" Finnian called her name urgently from behind.

But Kaia didn't stop walking. She disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

Finnian stared at the empty space where she had been. He swallowed hard, his throat tightening as he watched her go, but ultimately, he stayed rooted to the spot.

As Kaia drove her car out of Aethelstan, the morning sun broke through, burning away the mist.

A profound sense of sorrow surged in her eyes. Tears slowly blurred her vision, making her eyes sting.

By laying everything out in the open today, she had truly left no room for turning back. Things could never go back to the way they were.

She had ruthlessly drawn a hard line under that long-held, secret crush.

At ten o'clock that morning, Aethelstan held a technical review meeting. Silas walked in carrying a cup of coffee. As soon as he entered the conference room, he noticed everyone was present except for Kaia.

The meeting time arrived, and Silas asked everyone to wait a few more minutes. Right then, Kaia hurried in, looking apologetic.

Silas's deep eyes locked onto her face for a few seconds, but Kaia just quietly opened her laptop and stared at the screen.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting shadows across her face. When the light hit her amber eyes, they looked somewhat vacant and distant.

Kaia seemed to realize she was losing focus. She rubbed her temples, forcing herself to snap back to reality.

She looked up at the familiar graphs and data on the projector, but her brain felt like a swarm of buzzing bees. The information just wouldn't process.

Her confrontation with Finnian that morning was definitely affecting her.

Her main role today was to listen to reports from her team; she didn't have to present anything.

So, she picked up a fountain pen and twirled it between her fingers, trying to steady her nerves.

But when an incorrect data point popped up on the screen, the pen slipped from her fingers with a sharp click, rolled off the edge of the desk, and hit the floor.

The faint noise wasn't particularly loud in the conference room, but Silas, sitting next to her, turned his head to look.

Kaia bent down to pick it up, but a large hand beat her to it. Silas scooped up the pen and placed it next to her folders.

Kaia shot him a grateful look. Silas kept a casual expression and simply raised an eyebrow in response.

When the meeting moved to the Q&A session, someone asked Kaia a question. Her response time was noticeably slower than usual.

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